


Some Families Are a Bit of a Circus

by a-blog-against-team-cap (MyaAni)



Series: IronStrange Week 2018 [2]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: But I shall try, F/M, I wrote this in one sitting and it kind of sucks plz don't hate it, IronStrange, M/M, i am awful at updating, i will update more later, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 16:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14675313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyaAni/pseuds/a-blog-against-team-cap
Summary: Stephen Strange runs away, and the circus find him.





	Some Families Are a Bit of a Circus

**Author's Note:**

> Day 2 of IronStrange Week 2018!
> 
> I was planning on writing this whole fic in one go but,,,, that didn't happen. So. Stay tuned for future chapters, potentially including descriptions of their circus acts.

Stephen shivers. The fall air was crisp during the day, and had turned downright freezing once the sun set. He pulls his cloak tighter around him, hoping that it could provide just a shred more of desperately needed warmth. He could tell it was going to be one of those nights, when he regretted leaving. He knows intellectually that it was the only option, but still, it was painful sometimes, especially during the lonely autumn nights. But it had to happen, his parents couldn’t even look him in the eye. Even when they hit him, when they screamed that it was all his fault. 

He stumbles forward, grabbing the cold chain link fence that surrounded the deserted fairgrounds. As he tosses himself over, the cloak lowers him down far softer than gravity would have. When he reaches the base of a tree, he gives up. This was as far as he was going to make it tonight. Easing his aching, frozen bones onto the hard-packed soil, he curls into himself. Just as he dozes off, the noise of a truck pulling up startles him awake, sending him scuttling behind the sliver of cover that the tree provides. 

The brilliant truck lights glare him in the face for a moment, before it turns to the side, and they dim to a soft glow whilst the truck parks. The back of the truck slams open, and mandalas flicker to life instinctively on Stephen’s hands. Afraid of being spotted, he pushes them down again as a mismatched band of teenagers stumble out of the back of the truck, carting with them a variety of bizarre items. A boy with what looked like a dinner plate slung over his back, another with a massive hammer, and a girl with what looked like red mist at her fingertips are all included in the unusual group. A small brunette flies out of the back of the truck, with blue light emitting from his feet, and carrying what looks like a large square of fabric. Stephen is somewhat befuddled by every aspect of this group, and almost curious enough to consider revealing himself. 

The boy calls back into the truck, “Shuri! Get your ass out here, we need to see if it worked!” A red-headed woman steps out of the passenger seat of the truck cabin. 

“Tony, I swear to God, you two are not supposed to mess with the tent.” she says in an exasperated tone of voice. 

Tony retaliates, “But setting it up takes so long! We made it faster.” A girl- Shuri?- pops her head out from the truck behind him, smirking. 

She adds on, “We think. We couldn’t exactly test it back there.” The women cradles her head in her hands. She looks almost like Donna when he would- right, Donna. Not going there.

“Fine. Test it now, then, so we might have time to fix it before tomorrow,” her voice is strained. Shuri claps her hands together excitedly, and Tony flies the canvas square out into the middle of the empty lot. Stephen feels a pang of remembrance. That seemed so much like Donna, it’s like twisting a knife in the still-gaping wound. Tony presses a button, and swoops away, far up into the night sky, just in time to avoid being hit by the rapidly expanding canvas tent, striped with purple, red and gold. 

“See, Pep?” Tony’s voice is chipper, “Not everything we make is totally defective.”

The woman- Pepper- gapes upward, “How did you guys manage that in the back of a truck- You know what, I don’t want to know.” She shakes her head decisively and pivots on her heel, starting to walk back toward the truck before turning back to shake her finger at Tony and Shuri, “This doesn’t mean you two can meddle with the stuff whenever you want!” Stephen stiffles a giggle. It was the same type of annoyed that Wong would get when he made portals to go in and out of Wong’s house. He absent-mindedly stretches out his limbs, which were cramping from crouching behind the tree for so long. One of the boys pivots suddenly, whipping out a bow and arrow.

“Something’s over there,” he hisses. Stephen flinches in fear. A taller, African American teen turns around lethargically.

Squinting into the darkness, he speaks, “I don’t see anything. Sure your ears aren’t broken again, Clint?” he says, gesturing towards the hearing aids dangling from the blond’s ears. Clint swats his hand, scowling.

“My ears are broken, but my eyes aren’t, asshole.” He releases the arrow, sending it whistling through the air above Stephen. Instinctively, a shield slams up around him, and the projectile rebounds off, flying off into the woods.

“That was a warning sho-” His words cut off suddenly, seeing the orange circle that vanishes as quickly as it was there. Stephen cringes at his own lack of self-control. 

“CLINT.” Pepper’s frustrated voice cuts through the chaos, “Don’t waste your arrows, Tony might or might not make you more.”

Clint pouts, “It’s not a waste! Did you see that orange thing?” He slaps another arrow into his bow and fires it off without looking, and it whizzes unerringly towards Stephen. His shields slam back up, and the arrow hits them, then spins off to the side, into the greenery. 

Pepper blinks, taken aback, “Okay, so there is something over there. But you could investigate, without your equipment, maybe?” Clint grumbles and storms over towards Stephen, who scrambles backwards in the brush. He steps closer, and Stephen can make out that the blond’s t-shirt is purple, reading “Caw Caw Motherfuckers” in scratchy white print. Clint tilts his head and narrows his eyes as he spots Stephen, who must be quite the sight in his filthy jeans and t-shirt, and bright red cloak (which is moving by itself). 

“What the fuck,” Clint mutters under his breath, “is another weirdo doing here? We’ve got an army of them already,” he raises his voice significantly, “PEPPER! It’s a dude!” Stephen pushes himself to his feet, and shakily summons two mandalas. He’s so done with everything, he just wants to pass out on the frosty ground, and now there’s some asshat with a bow and arrow, of all things, in his face. One flickers out on his hand, and he glares at it, as if that’s going to do something. Overhead, he hears a slight wooshing noise, and Tony makes a graceful landing next to Clint.

“Oh. Okay. You weren’t just being a clown.” Tony says, surprised to see that Stephen does, in fact, exist, “Hi.” Stephen doesn’t even try to keep the wary look off of his face. Tony pauses, seemingly considering his next words, “It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you.”

In the background, Clint whispers, “Says you.” Tony sends him a look, “Sorry. I won’t shoot you anymore. Promise.”

“Do you want to come with us?” Tony asks in a gentle tone, concerned eyes scanning up and down Stephen. He shrugs his shoulders slowly, making sure to avoid eye contact. He hears the sound of heels clipping along the dirt towards him.

Pepper’s vaguely irked voice came from behind Tony and Clint, “Really guys? Have you already found someone to fight? I swear, I don’t know why I put up with you expired coupons.” She stops suddenly, mid-tirade, when she sees Stephen, “Oh. Are you okay?” Stephen shrugs again, his stomach growling loudly.

She continues onward, “What’s your name?”

Quietly, he answers, “Stephen.”

Tony rejoins the conversation, “Do you need something to eat? Somewhere to sleep?” Stephen shrugs again. It doesn’t really matter. It’s not like anything that happens will make a difference in the long run. Pepper gently reaches out for his arm, and he lets her take it. She and Tony lead him off, towards the circus tent, and Clint follows, bringing up the rear. Pepper pushes aside the tent flap, and walks briskly towards some rooms popping out of the tent fabric in the back of the massive space.

“Tony, is it okay if he shares with you?” she asks, whilst simultaneously pushing open the door to the room.

“Of course,” he says, and gives Stephen a smile that for some reason makes him happier than he’d been in months, since Donna had died. Pepper bustles off, sending a man to retrieve a cot, and grabbing some basic provisions. Stephen smiles at Tony, hesitantly, quaveringly, but smiling nonetheless, and Tony responds with a grin that seems to light up everything around them. And it’s at that moment that Pepper chooses to return, thrusting food into Tony’s hands, who then offers some of it to Stephen.

Shortly thereafter, Stephen is lying down on a camping bed, stomach full, and warm. Tony whispers a quiet, “Good night.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, leave a comment with your thoughts!  
> Concrit encouraged!


End file.
